When Brazil's president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is sworn in on Sunday in the country's capital it will mark his third return to office — the culmination of a political comeback sure to thrill supporters and enrage opponents in a fiercely polarized nation.
Does Vladimir Putin realize now that invading Ukraine was a calamitous mistake? Nobody but the Russian president knows for sure — but nothing coming out of the Kremlin in recent weeks suggests he's planning to change direction soon.
Russia continued intense attacks on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine early on New Year's Day, following a barrage of missiles fired on Saturday, with air raid sirens wailing for hours overnight.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to increase the production of nuclear warheads "exponentially" and build a more powerful intercontinental ballistic missile, state media reported Sunday, signalling deepening animosities with the U.S., South Korea and others.
Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, who stepped down as leader of the Catholic Church in 2013, has died. He was 95.
